


Like Fire to Leaves

by GothieCakes



Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Attempted Kidnapping, Blood, Blood and Injury, Blood and Violence, Choking, Eye Trauma, Fights, Murder, Other, Rated For Violence, Stabbing, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-22
Updated: 2020-10-22
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:01:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,153
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27147715
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GothieCakes/pseuds/GothieCakes
Summary: The spiral of vengeance is neverending.Until one day, it ends.
Relationships: Kurapika (Hunter X Hunter)/Original Character(s)
Kudos: 2





	Like Fire to Leaves

**Author's Note:**

> This was a very special piece I did for the lovely Rabblerauser. 
> 
> I hope I held up because hooh boy was this fun to write.
> 
> It's been a while since I wrote extremely violent scenes which as you see, I've placed the warning as a TEEN audience and marked the tags... I dont feel the need to mark it as M for Mature, you've been warned.
> 
> If somehow you've stumbled onto this and you aren't the person it was intended for, please enjoy Zach and their desire to go absolutley feral and beat the shit out of Chrollo. 
> 
> (Yes, this was the prompt and thank you so much Zach because it was FUN AS HELL to write.)

It should have been torture to wake up to something like this, they wished it was a dream, though the unread messages on their phone were horribly real. 

_ “Your prince has been kidnapped, come see me. ♠️” _

That’s all it took for Zach to be shaking, staring down at their phone in fear and looking to the designated location sent in succession. 

They’d just woken up, but in moments are dressed and out the door, forgetting almost everything behind them aside the phone and clothes on their back. Keys, money— they forgot it all.

Only the words,

_ Your prince… kidnapped… come see me... _

Stinging the backs of their eyes and aching a pain in their head. For however long they ran, the door shutting echo was still behind them, it was so loud but they were blocks away now, the lights of Yorknew lighting up the ever so dimming sky as they bolted, nothing else on their mind.

The weight of the knife they also grabbed right before leaving painting a clear picture in their mind. Almost weightless in their pocket as they headed into a clearing and saw a rather familiar silhouette. 

-

It was always nice for Hisoka to drag old  _ friends _ from the ashes of their daily normal lives to drop them into chaos, a chaos he would so like to see. It didn’t take much for Kurapika to run off after he merely stated the coordinates he’d last seen Chrollo… he wondered if it would be the same for his dark haired friend who stood before him. 

They were gasping for breath and each breath emitted the smallest amount of smoke, wiping their mouth with the back of their hand and looking into gold orbs with widened eyes, 

“Hurry up and tell me where he is, I know this game you play and—“

They’re cut off by a long sigh, Hisoka crossing his legs and acquiring a playing card from something almost of thin air, perched between his fingers and staring at it, the king of clubs staring at him as he looked down towards Zach, 

“Not even a ‘ _ hello _ ’ for an old friend?” 

Hisoka laughed and Zach raised their voice, 

“We aren’t friends, you know that better than anyone else, now tell me where he is.” 

Zach seethed and stepped closer, sure they wouldn’t want to get into any unnecessary fights, only Chrollo, he was the only one who mattered and he wanted to know where he was.

The laughing fit from Hisoka was unexpected and Hisoka himself covered his mouth, the teardrop on the side of his face threatening to leak from the small ones at the corner of his eyes,

“Oh, you’ll have to forgive me, but I think I’m having a sense of déjà vu.” With a sharp nail that flicked the card back into an unknown place, Hisoka wiped the tears carefully that threatened to smudge his makeup out of place. It took him too long to calm down from the small coincidence he’d found himself laughing over.

“It’s just that…” 

Another exhale, and he’d gone back to stone faced, sitting like a gargoyle guarding a house… except, well it was a run down theme park. Quite fitting for his type.

“It’s just that your boyfriend said the same exact thing, Kurapika didn’t even give me the courtesy of finishing a hello before his chains were pointed at my heart so…  _ yes _ , excuse me for laughing.”

Zach stood uneasy, Hisoka glaring down with hawks eyes and they began to open their mouth, before they could even speak, obviously repeating the question they’d asked previously… Hisoka spoke, stance gone almost bored, as he leaned his head in his hand. 

His other throwing a card at Zach, Zach catching it easily, it wasn’t one of Hisoka’s, it was a business card for a metalworks factory, one that had shut down months ago. It made sense now… Zach looked down to the card and cursed. 

“I’ve grown bored of Chrollo after so long… we’ll see, maybe one day I’ll—“

“I don’t care.” 

Throwing the card to the ground, they started off at a run, wasting no time. There was no time to waste if Chrollo had Kurapika trapped somewhere, it filled them with nothing besides anxiety. 

Hisoka merely sat back now a small chuckle escaping him as he watched them fade to the distance. 

Kurapika had said the same thing as well.

-

The courtyard of the metalworks factory was empty, no guards, nothing to stop them from coming in. They merely walked in. As much as they wanted to call it suspicious, they couldn’t bring themself to care. 

It was dark now, most buildings were, aside from one... they found themself staring at the maintenance shack, what looked like candles flickering inside of it. The only building under the stars of darkness that was lit. 

Before they knew it, they were inside, and the door slammed shut behind them with an audible clash. Upon a throne of crates and boxes sat the man who had ruined all too much, a book propped open on his knee. 

Chrollo didn’t look up. 

It was like a blur of what they remembered happening next.

Zach finds themself yelling, yelling at him. Each breath is literally fire as they start to get angry. Their eyes almost blacked out but each flicker of flame more intense in them with each word as they stared down the stoned face Chrollo… still staring at the book.

The smirk sported on his face, just another slap in their own. Angrier and angrier they become. It's a worry their hair would catch fire, it's not the first thing that comes to their mind, considering there are much bigger issues to worry about.

The book slams shut. 

" _ Where... is he…? _ " 

There are tears in their eyes and Chrollo simply looks up, to the sizzling flames licking at their lips. He was studying them, like he did with all, like every other human before the last, sitting without a care in the world. 

Comfy in a chair made of two by four boxes and rusted nails, a king on a throne of his upbringing. 

All the while  _ smiling _ as he did. His fingers tapping against the wood, making a dull sound, hitting a blunt stick against an unrelenting surface. 

Hitting a branch against flames and expecting any difference in outcome except to burn. Though, he stared down in the face of the obvious answer. 

His other hand rested against his book. Unmoving against the old spine, the only sound between them was flickering and dull taps. 

Chrollo could tell Zach wanted to snap, the branch he would extend like all of his thoughts. The questions he wanted the non obvious to, the way he wanted to evoke that emotion where the stick wouldn't burn, but fight against the nature of it's being and snap in the hand of the arsonist.

With every minute the moment couldn't come soon enough, the moment of face to face hidden secrets where he sat carefree and waited.  _ Waited _ for that difference. 

Growing impatient, as all good things must end, Chrollo knows this yet he continues with his usual smirk, deep in thought as he looks down to the book at his side, once blinking, looking back with a bored expression, a tired drawl as he speaks, his fingers stop moving. 

"Shouldn't you know that already?" 

The look is precious, it's everything he believes he wanted to see, the branch slipping from his hand, and falling amongst the other burning masses. Ignition, the fire blazing as he stares into their eyes and feels for once in his life, maybe he would have some fun with this, maybe he would finally. This wasn’t Hisoka, this wasn’t a practice match against Uvogin, this was pure unbottled hatred spilling from each corner of their eyes. 

There’s something spilling from his side as well, it’s wet, and a quick look to his side and there’s shiny metal stuck in him and then pulled out as the fire breather steps back slightly, when he touches the hot drip down his face, he can feel a flush heat engulf it. Fiery breath, as if he stepped outside on a hot day from a cool room.

Chrollo hadn't even noticed being stabbed.

He trails his fingers through the drips and feels the aftermath of the piercing pain. A patch of blood, his own, the pain radiating from his side. Chrollo looks up from the wound, Zach is determined, wiping their face with their sleeve, bloodied blade at their side, dripping onto the concrete floor.

It’s quiet, the drips of blood the only sound echoing in the room as Chrollo looks up with the face of a man who just realized what pain entailed. Zach could care less, they know that their mouth, if opened at any point would spit flames and burn that obnoxious coat he wore. They wanted to tear it apart, rip it to shreds, take him off of his high looking aura he wore as he sat upon trash. 

Chrollo was nothing more than another man who destroyed the lives of countless for a gain so small, a fleeting obsession thrown to the side after looking for long enough to please. A sick hoarding desire to take things from the world that weren’t meant to go, disgusting wretch of a trophy hunter taking what he pleased without consequence. 

_ Until now _ . 

They're close to each other now, Zach with eyes aflame, and it's the same question they ask once more but this time, practically infernal. Burning inside with a newfound rage. A spark from the branch lighting the fire to forests around them. 

" _ Where is he _ ." 

It's in that moment Zach makes sure Chrollo knows, they aren’t asking a  _ question _ , but they’re making a  _ demand _ . They point their knife as Chrollo’s eyes take an unnatural glint, the knife was reflected perfectly in them, there was a sick irony to the entire situation. Chrollo went to stand, unshaken despite staring at the ground with both hands bloodied. 

Up off his throne, his height advantage didn’t shake Zach, they didn't care enough. it's only in the moment when he grabs for Bandits Secret and then stops where he stands. He scoffs and throws his head back in a brief, coarse laugh. 

“I don’t feel like repeating myself.” 

Chrollo lets the nen ability dissipate and looks dead on at Zach, they stand their guard and Chrollo simply lunges forwards with a deadly pace. Exhaling and swinging their arm back, Zach blows the pent up flames from their mouth, a millisecond of a pause was all it takes to get another blow, as cheap and dainty it might have come off, Zach could see blood spill from a timed blow at Chrollo’s cheek. 

Chrollo doesn’t stop the incoming blow, each of them timed blows at one another one a second off from the next, a fist is twisted in Zach’s stomach and they exhale with a gasp, fire lighting from the breath coming from their mouth at the impact. They aren’t sure whose blood is whose in the end when their blade comes clean again from Chrollo’s stomach. They skid back a good two feet distance from each other. 

They aren’t sure how many ribs they’ve broken, but if they breathe out it  _ hurts _ and they aren’t sure how Chrollo is still standing up, there’s blood covering the floor red, and with a heavy gasp they contribute to it by leaning over and retching a mouthful onto the floor. Chrollo spits and it's crimson. They know they just have to keep up with the well timed blows and they’ll get far enough to get the bastard to his knees. They won't give up, they have a plan.

In the moment they both lock eyes once more and Zach dashes as the other does as well, trying to keep sure footing is hard as more blood is spilled, Chrollo in his coat pocket grabbing what looked like a fish gutting knife times two-- Zach feeling the three blades clip them in the side as they duck down, their ribs hurting like nothing else, the pain making them almost bleary... but they had to do this--! 

Ducking, they stab with all their might into Chrollo’s knee. There’s a scream and a cracking sound as they slide out of the way of striking range  _ almost _ fast enough. They get a nasty stab to the arm and drop the knife in it, Chrollo falling to the floor along with them as he kicks the knife away, out of reach, desperate he grabs for any scrap of clothing he can on Zach. 

Zach eyes the knife in Chrollo’s hand, and it's coming for their throat. In a fit of adrenaline, they grab the fish gutting knife's blade and push with all their might against it. Getting a clean stab from the knife meant certain death, in the moment they had the right to be scared, they needed it away from their face just long enough to distract him again.

Exhaling their breath into a fiery smoke, temporarily blinding Chrollo enough to hold the knife's handle, getting closer to their eye and closer-- Until they hear a grunt and Chrollo grabs their throat and pins their neck to the floor. 

There’s no other option in the situation, only one thing to do. They take their free hand and jab it into the bleeding gash at Chrollo’s side. He relents the knife as they push their fingers deep into the wound, tearing and pulling at muscle, flesh-- another pained yell. Zach could feel tears in their own eyes watering as they grabbed the blade firm as Chrollo weakened his grip.

They didn’t care if they were bleeding, all they cared was it was good enough for them to take the weapon, weighed heavily in their hand and slashing it upwards against Chrollo’s face. Deep and bloody as crimson pools onto their face from Chrollo’s own, his face bleeding and eye looking almost destroyed. 

Chrollo looked frozen for a moment before tightening his grip around their neck. 

The last weakened flurry of stabs against Chrollo’s stomach stops as the knife gets so bloodied it slips from their grip and Zach watches pained and choking as Chrollo throws it to the side. Their eyes are watering and they can feel their senses dulling, they did this for  _ him _ , they needed to get rid of Chrollo once and for all, even if it meant them both dying in the process. 

“I can’t see in this eye…” 

There’s a sickening smile that overtakes Chrollo’s entire face and even scratching and biting at every part of his face, tearing out chunks of skin, blood scattering their clothes, soaking the white fur red on Chrollo’s, he seemed like he was euphoric in the fact he was almost dead. In their honesty, it was sickening. 

“At least I have a perfect pair waiting for me…” 

Zachs eyes widened as they clawed at Chrollo’s hand against their throat, screaming and yelling to whoever was listening, 

“I’ll tell him what I did to you, make sure his eyes go red before...” 

Zach felt their breath fully cut, pressure on their windpipe cutting all airflow… Yet, they still struggled, tearing his hands to pieces, clawing at his eyes, they knew Chrollo wouldn’t have them die before finishing what he was saying. 

Another hit to their vision, and in their ears, everything sounded far away… every second counted. 

“Well, I’m sure Kurapika has told you what happens next.” 

Without the smile on Chrollo’s face, he looked terrifying, disgustingly bored, and like he was reading some sort of homework assignment. Though underneath him was a human being, being pinned one handed to the floor as he spoke in a mess of words that Zach wasn’t even sure they were hearing them all. Their vision was going dark...

They just wanted  _ him _ back.

-

_ I'm heading out, I made extra coffee in case you want it. _

_ Love you! _

__

The clock read six am, not that Zach would wake up anytime soon to read his note… but he was sure they'd see it.

Kurapika’s new job was a nightmare. More guard business, but at what cost. Especially so early in the morning... He barely had enough time to do his hair and fix his face before heading out the door… Never forgetting the notes to his partner though. As he finds a paid bill scrap paper and scribbles the message on the back of it, he sips his coffee and looks off into the door of the bedroom. The silhouette of his partner under various blankets greeting him.

The coffee is bitter and it almost bothers him as much as his tie being slightly off and too tight. It was just another day with a boring job with little to no information coming from it. He needed a break regardless, but it was itching on him that it had been close to three years with no information from the troupe. 

Setting down his coffee, Kurapika heads for the door with a sigh. The high he got from fighting Uvogin was like none else, and though he craved for some form of normalcy in his life, like being in a relationship, and trying to stay away from thinking of the troupe, trying to leave it all in the past… Was near  _ impossible _ . 

Reaching for the door, the buzz of his phone broke him from his thoughts, looking at the screen and clicking it open. A text stared at him with a blinding silence, 

“ _ Guess who’s back?  _ 🕷♥️ **”**

Another text appeared under the other.

“ _I'll be at the usual spot._ ♦️”

Kurapika rushes out of the door, his hand faltering at the handle momentarily as he looks back to his partner sleeping peacefully under the covers. He couldn’t get them involved in this… Kurapika bites his lip, locks the door behind him and walks in the opposite direction of his work. Landing himself back into the claws of the ever _thoughtful_ Hisoka who was going to provide all the information needed to take down another leg-- no-- the _head_ of the wretched spider still making its way into his newfound home.

  
  


Eyes scarlet, he steps to the sidewalk and flags a taxi heading him only for mistakes. He knew Zach would find out if something happened… therefore, he would make sure nothing happened.

-

_ Kurapika knows he failed miserably on not letting something happen.  _

He’d killed the guard almost instantaneously after losing his fight with Chrollo, being forced into a tiny back room with only a single guard guarding the door. 

He couldn’t rush out again in a beat up shape. He needed to collect himself and make as little noise as possible as he loosened his bindings and acted as if they were a big deal. Chrollo didn’t do enough damage, but, it still stung in some places. He figured he would live. 

Chrollo had gone outside for a brief moment and it’s just as the door slammed when Kurapika broke his bindings, jumping onto the guard and snapping his head back in a disgusting crunch that he was free, just as Chrollo entered once more, body falling and door making a loud slam he knew he didn’t suspect anything. 

He could hear his words still. 

“ _ I’m going to murder the one you love, you'll only be able to sit and listen… and then, I’ll finally steal your eyes. How much of a pain you’ve been with them... _ ” 

He wanted to scream as he was tossed into the back room and bound. 

Hisoka knew Zach… Kurapika knew he would give the location to them— it wasn’t long before— 

The door outside was pushed open and muffled screaming filled the main room… The door was locked, but enough kicking and pushing would work in his favour to break it open and— 

_ “Where is he.”  _

Kurapika gasped, and began searching the guard. No keys… but, a knife. He would make do with the knife, without warning he heard a fleshy thud-- then… blood.  _ Drops of blood on the floor _ . Kurapika began smashing the blade into the metal of the doors lock. He knew that voice… 

“ _ Where is he _ .”

Kurapika was running out of time as he heard Chrollo laugh. He needed to hurry.

-

There’s a disgusting gushing sound, then another one, and another one. The bleary vision is helping them from seeing the horrors as they looked up. Blinking a few times and coughing, they could still see a silhouette of Chrollo above them... a couple more blinks, more coughing then inhaling deep breaths… 

They felt a wet, warm substance litter their face as a crunching sound filled the air.

It wasn't blurry anymore, now extremely clear. 

Chrollo certainly sat above them still, an exasperated familiar blond standing beside him. Their vision was clear as, looking up, yielded a Chrollo with his face stuck in shock, and various knife wounds cut across his neck and finally a final one stabbed in the side of his head. 

_ Kurapika _ .

The sound as Chrollo was kicked aside to the floor by the blond was harmony. A bloody splatter and then silence. It was somehow their own euphoria. 

Although covered in blood almost head to toe, a fight that Zach knew they deserved the small victory for. Even if they almost died. 

Without hesitation, they grasped the hand outstretched to them and crumpled into his arms. Kurapika didn’t seem to mind, holding tight, then pushing away, mumbling something before dragging Zach out of the door. 

Their wounds hurt, their neck bruised, the cut on their arm, stomach and… they didn’t know the other ones but, they were sure exhaustion came into play as well. 

Sounds started to come back as their feet against asphalt drummed and Kurapika’s voice filled their ears with melodies. 

“I’m sure your ribs are broken, you’re bleeding… Zach your arms bleeding too—“ 

Right, they’d almost forgotten, in the high of seeing Kurapika again. Focusing and the realization dawning, they stopped running, Kurapika forced to as well. 

They’d ended up in a park by now, empty at this time of night and they grabbed Kurapika's blood soaked shirt. Looking up, they sobbed. Leaning forward and simply crying into the stained fabric. It still hadn’t caught up, but Kurapika also had tears in his eyes. 

“He’s… dead… we—”

Zach words cut off as Kurapika speaks. Hands gripping to the fabric tighter against them. The fear was setting in. 

“I… thought you were… how could I be so careless I… I shouldn’t have gotten you involved I—“ 

Kurapika’s eyes were overflowing with tears, sniffling and lowering his head, hands shaking, 

“I didn’t want to lose you…” 

A loud sob rang through the quiet, 

“I could have lost you—!” 

Kurapika wrapped Zach in a tight hug, if their ribs weren’t already crushed, they would have been now. 

All they managed out was a wheeze and a sniffle. Their words spilling mindlessly, 

“I… I’m sorry… I couldn’t think of what to do, when I woke up… Hisoka told me you were missing, I… I ran, I read the address he gave and I just ran to you, I wanted you to be safe!” 

Zach looks up tears still flowing, Kurapika with a hand over his eyes, wetness still trailing from them as he sobbed, 

“Zach… I’m so sorry...” 

Zach isn’t sure how, or what they were expecting but the soft lips of his lover brushing their own, or how sweet they tasted against each other despite the mess around them, wasn’t it. Sure, they had been scolded mere moments before but leaning up into the soft kiss was enough to have them closing their eyes, and as they broke from each other, flush stained their cheeks, Kurapika laughed.

A gentle laugh that could cure every wound against their skin, nothing hurt as they heard it. 

“Zach… we did it.” 

A smile, the realization of everything dawning on them both as they stood, the mere specks of daylight showing its face. 

“He’s dead, Kura… we did it.” 

Exchanged looks of pure joy lit their faces. A smile as Kurapika brought their heads together, 

“ _ I love you so much. _ ” 

It was whispered, yet, so loud as Zach looked up and smiled against Kurapika’s lips. 

“ _ I love you too _ .”

Looking back, the way of the now dead Chrollo Lucilfer whose memory would vanish from their lives, stopped. The head of the spider was crushed and would never be able to bother them again. Their normal life was within a millimeters reach. The legs that remained would break and scatter.

They were free.

Hand in hand they started walking towards the flashing lights of the city. 

Walking towards home. 

“Zach?”

“Hm?” 

“Let’s bandage you up once we get home, okay?” 

Zach only nodded and squeezed Kurapika’s hand tighter. 

**Author's Note:**

> You can find more of my writing on here, or if you want something specific, I'm always open to listen over at @razikain on tumblr. 
> 
> Have a great day or night, wherever you may be, and dont forget to comment, kudos or bookmark. It would truly make my day. ❤
> 
> \- Gothie


End file.
